Thursday, January 31, 2008

Thanks to the work of the very talented genealogist Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG, I was able to abstract the following valuable gems about Dycusburg's history. If you drive through Dycusburg now, it's hard to imagine the town with police officials, judges, a river ferry, hotels, a jail, taverns and streets lined with merchants.

Through the dedication and devotion of professional genealogists like Jerome who spent the time sifting through dusty documents, a clearer picture of a bustling Dycusburg is painted.

These notations appear in her publication, Crittenden County, Kentucky: County Court Order Book I (1842-1852). She has graciously allowed me to share these abstracts with readers of this Web site. I encourage you to visit Brenda's genealogy blog at http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/. In addition to this book (nearly out of print), Brenda has an impressive collection of publications available for purchase, including many Crittenden County publications.

Crittenden County was created from Livingston County in 1842. Soon after, Dycusburg became a very active little community, as you can see from the entries appearing here.

12 April 1847Pg. 173: Theophilus Killen, James Duvall, Joshua Duvall, Hiram Sanders and Geo. Martin appointed commissioners to view & mark a road commencing about 3/4 mile from Dycus's warehouse and that they report the name of the persons through whose land sd. road may pass.

10 April 1848p. 209: D.W. Carter, John Brasher, Lee Travis, Newton Clement & Jacob Coon, or any 3 of them, appointed to view and mark a way for a road to commence at Dycusburg to run the nearest and best way therefrom to Marion and report conveniences & inconveniences.

p. 216: G.B. Dycus moved the court to grant him a charter of privilege of establishing a ferry across the Cumberland River at Dycusburg which motion continued until the next term of court.

Stephen B. McElroy appointed (in place of Jno. F. Bennett) Surveyor of that part of the road leading from the ford of the creek at Kirkpatrick's and extending to Jacob's Landing on Cumberland River, beg. at the ford of Livingston Creek and extending to the creek near Shirley Tisdale's and that he with the following keep same in good repair, Jesse Brooks, J.W. Brooks, J.J. Cowsert, A.J. Johnson, John McElroy, E. Evans, W.J. Martin, Wm. Bennett, James Wyatt, George Martin, Jonas Martin & B.W. Bennett & hands.

8 May 1848p. 219: Mortimer Jackson, A.M. Hunter, Joshua Duvall, James McKenn & Samuel McWaters appointed trustees for the town of Dycusburg.

12 June 1848p. 226: James McKean, Justice of the Peace, has taken the oath of fidelity to the Commonwealth and with Theo. Killen & G.B. Dycus, as his securities, entered into bond in the penalty of 500 pounds. Ordered that a testimonial issue to him authorizing him to celebrate the rites of matrimony between all persons in sd. Commonwealth who shall produce a marriage license.

p. 233: On application of G.B. Dycus for the establishment of a publick ferry across Cumberland River at Dycusburgh and appearing that notice hath been given to the owners of the land on one side of sd. stream and Dycus being the owner of the other side, ordered that ferry be established at the place designated and that Dycus be required to keep at all times one good substantial ferry boat and not less than one hand to manage same and that he be allowed to charge & receive rates. Whereupon Dycus and Theo. Killen & John S. Gilliam, securities, entered the bond in the penalty of 20 pounds, according to law.

G.B. Dycus produced into court a plann of the town of Dycusburgh, which is ordered recorded.

12 February 1849p. 272: Giles L. Cobb, J.C. Elder, Wilson Travis, Newton Clements & Andrew Stinson, or any three of them, appointed to view and mark a way for a road to commence at the Salem road near I.N. Clement's residence to extend the nearest & best way to Dycusburgh and that they report the names of all persons through whose lands the road will pass & also report the conveniences from the establishment of sd. road.

p. 274: The following persons appointed as Trustees for the town of Dycusburgh, viz, C.M. Jackson, Joshua Duvall, J.C. Elder, H.W. Sanders & G.B. Dycus & that James McKean be appointed to act as clerk of sd. Trustees and that sd. Trustees be governed by the general law now in force in relation to the Trustee of towns.

License granted A.G. Noel to keep a tavern at the house in the town of Dycusburgh for one year from this date. Whereupon he took the required oath & with W.B. Shaw & Answell Bennett, his securities, entered into bond in the penalty of 100 pounds.

9 April 1849p. 283: George Martin, in place of Alex Hunter, appointed Surveyor of that part of the public road leading from Dycusburg to Princeton, commencing at Shirley Tisdale's land and extending to Free Betty ford on Livingston Creek and that Tisdale & hands & Bryant W. Bennett & hands keep sd. road in good repair.

9 July 1849p. 296: Ordered that the following officers & Judges be appointed for the ensuing election:Dycusburg Precinct:

11 March 1850p. 330: Ordered on motion of Joshua Duvall, who is hereby released, that John Swinney be appointed Surveyer of the road from Dycusburg and extending to the Jacobs's landing Road and that he with all hands within 3 miles on each side of sd. road keep same in good repair.

Wilson Travis appointed Surveyor of the road leading from his house to Dycusburg and that he with all hands living with 2 miles of sd. road on either side proceed to cut & open sd. road.

8 April 1850p. 341: Agreeable to [an] Act of the General Assembly passed at the last session, ordered that the following Judge, Sheriffs, and Clerks be appointed to conduct the Election in May, next, viz:

D.W. Carter, Judge at Dycusburg PrecinctSamuel McWaters

p. 345: B.W. Bennett, Shirley Tisdal, J. Martin, Enoch Evans, & G.L. Cole appointed to view & fix a place at which to construct a bridge upon Livingston Creek on a route leading from Dycusburg to Fredonia in Caldwell Co. & report as soon as practicable.

p. 362: I.N. Clement, Chesley Wheeler, James Banks, Wm. Banks, & Wm. B. Clement, or any three of them, appointed to view and mark a way for a road to commence on the road from Princeton to Salem near the residence of I.N. Clement and extending to the upper corner of Wm. Banks' field on the Dycusburg Road and they report conveniences & inconveniences.

10 February 1851p. 394: On motion of Samuel McWaters, ordered that W.C. Graves, Thomas Jarrett, G.B. Dycus, Robert Cooksey and A.M. Hunter be appointed to view and mark a way for a public road commencing at Dycusburg and extending to or near the mouth of Livingston Creek and that they report the names of all persons through whose land sd. road will pass & report conveniences and inconveniences.

10 March 1851p. 398: J.A. Yandell appointed constable for the Dycusburg District and thereupon too the oath of office and with Andrew J. Brasher, Jefferson Travis, William Banks, James Banks & Ewell Cruce, his securities, entered into and acknowledged bond in the penalty of $2000.

14 April 1851p. 407: Ordered that George M. Marshall be permitted to change the road leading from Marion to Dycusburgh, sd. change commencing opposite the dwelling house of Marshall and extending about 200 yards beyond the house.

Robert Cooksey appointed surveyor of the road from Dycusburg to or near the mouth of Livingston Creek and that he with all hands living with 2 miles of sd. road proceed to cut out & open said road & keep it in repair.

Date not knownp. 416: Ordered that the ferry landing in Dycusburg be as follows: Commencing at the upper corner of Commerce Street & extending up the river 200 feet.

p. 417: Ordered that ferryman at Dycusburg be allowed 150 feet as a ferry landing to commence at the upper edge of the house now occupied by Golman and Dupriest & running up the river and that James Bishop & C.M. Jackson be appointed to lay off sd. landing.

p. 418: The following persons appointed as Judges, Clerks and Sheriffs of Elections:

Commissioners A.J. Brasher, E.P. Evans & J.G.W. Brooks produced which stated that Giles L. Cobb be paid out of the next levy the sum of $80 for the building of a bridge.

p. 419: Bennett Crouch, Asa Crouch, C.C. Cobb, Glenn Owen, & G.B. Dycus, or any three of them, appointed commissioners to view a way for a road to commence at Dycusburg and extend to Clay Lick Creek & they are to report the names of all persons through whose land the road will pass & name the conveniences and inconveniences.

8 September 1851p. 431: License granted to Isaac Loyd to keep a tavern at his house in Dycusburg for one year from 8th of Septr. 1851. Whereupon he took the oath and entered into bond the penalty of 500 pounds.

8 March 1852p. 458: P.H. Clement allotted the following hands to work the road leading from Mrs. Rentfrow's to intersect the Dycusburg Road, to wit, Wm. Travis, Bradley Bettis, David Lackman, W.S. Perkins, A.J. Brasher & hands and Chambers.

p. 462: On motion of Isaac Shelby, ordered that Hiram Smith, Wiley Sawyer, & Saml. McWaters appointed to lay off the ferry boundary across the Cumberland River in Dycusburg.

12 April 1852p. 465: Elisha Tabor (in place of Abraham Deboe) appointed surveyor of the road from Butler's Mill to Dycusburg commencing at sd. Mill and extending to the Fords Ferry Road, near Mrs. Nancy Cruce's Mill and that he keep sd. road in repair with the following hands, viz, Abram Deboe, Hezekiah Tabor, Joseph Stephens, Jaob Taybor, Coonrad Crayne, John Debo & James Crayne.

p. 466: It appearing to the court that A.M. Hunter died in this county intestate, ordered that A.J. Hill be appointed admr of the estate of the decedent upon his executing bond in the penalty of $400. Whereupon he took the oath & with A.J. Hill (sic) acknowledged bond. J.F. Bennett, Henry Martin, J.G. Brooks, B.W. Bennett & D.W. Carter appointed appraisers of said estate.

p. 471: It appearing that Theodore Vosier was duly elected Police Marshall of Dycusburg, ordered he be allowed to qualify. Whereupon he took the oath & with Isaac Loyd, L. Shelby & G.L. Cobb entered into bond in the penalty of $2000.

12 July 1852p. 486: The following person appointed officers of the Elections in August next:

Incredibly, people have already started to donate money for the Veteran's Memorial Marker to be placed at Dycusburg.

A dedication ceremony, scheduled for July 4, 2008, is already in the works as well, and will include music, fireworks and a town BBQ festival.

The photo, although blurry, is a cell phone picture taken of the actual marker stone. It's an impressive rock, and we're certain will be a nice addition to the town.

In other news, cleanup efforts have been rekindled, and a very large cleanup will take place during the first part of April, in preparation for July's ceremony. If you'd like to make a donation or be involved with cleanup efforts, please e-mail me at matthewtpatton@yahoo.com.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

It's official ... we have a Veteran's Memorial in the works at Dycusburg! The cost, however, will need to be offset by donations.

The marker will be a very nice stone, measuring 2'4" wide, 3' tall and approx. 10" thick. We're nailing down a location for the marker to be set. The inscription will be similar to the following:

"In honor of Veterans from the Dycusburg area who served our country in war and peace, to protect and preserve our heritage. A nation conceived in liberty and justice. May we never forget the sacrifices they made. Dedicated July 4, 2008."Click on the larger image to get an idea of the lettering (a draft proof from the marker company). Please e-mail me at matthewtpatton@yahoo.com if you would be willing to make a donation toward the $900 cost.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

The May 1927 issue of True Detective magazine dealt with the shooting of Tommy Evans and subsequent investigation of the case in the Old 23rd District of Henry County, TN.

The True Detective article read in part, "They told me of the existence of a 'whiskey ring,' in which it was estimated that seventy-five percent of the population ... was alleged to have been engaged in this illicit whiskey business.

And it was contended that (Tommy Evans), a respectable and law-abiding citizen, member of the minority faction in the moonshine domain, had openly defied the moonshiners – had became a crusader against them – and died a martyr to the cause of his convictions.

Thus the motive for the assassination of (Evans) was apparent." The magazine article quoted a Paris, TN, minister, J.H. Buchanan, as saying that, "There are twelve men in this immediate section ready to stand for 'four-square for the right,' and there are twenty-five men over there, and I might be able to name them, who are banded together to protect and promulgate the liquor interests.

The remaining citizens in this district are in the middle of the road – either in sympathy with the devil's gang, or they lack the courage to say where they stand." It was amid such a climate that this book is set.

South of the Mouth of Sandy, a new book by Chris Evans, focuses on the Evans family that settled near the confluence of the Big Sandy and Tennessee rivers during the middle part of the 19th century. It traces the ancestry of Tommy Evans and tells the story of his death on a dirt road and the trial of his killer.

Brenda Joyce Jerome reports that her new book, Caldwell County, Kentucky Marriages 1874-1884, has been delivered from the printer.

"These books are being packaged and I have begun mailing them to all who pre-ordered. In order to keep costs as low as possible, the books are being mailed via media rate, which can take a week or so to reach areas like California, Texas and even Chicago," she writes on her popular blog, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog.

She added that few extra books will be available. "If you are interested in this book, it would be wise to order quickly as there are no plans to reprint this book."

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Coal mined from Crittenden County will return to the county in the form of financial help for the new detention center and three other community projects.

Sen. Dorsey Ridley told The Crittenden Press that local requests for the $300,000 due Crittenden County in the coming fiscal year from Kentuckyʼs coal severance tax have been agreed upon by him and Rep. Mike Cherry. Both Democrats represent Crittenden County in Frankfort and will be requesting allocations in the stateʼs new biennial budget based upon the wishes of the local fiscal court.

According to Ridley, the $300,000 will be broken down as follows:

$240,000 for debt reduction on the new $7.7 million Crittenden County Detention Center. That will amount to about half of the half-a-million dollar payment the county will make for 2009.

$30,000 for restrooms and upgrades to the Dam 50 recreation area.

$20,000 for upgrades to the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum in Marion.

$10,000 to create a recreation area at Chase Matthews Park at the boat ramp in Dycusburg.

From the Jan. 10 issue of The Crittenden Press (p. 5A). Click here for subscription information.

Monday, January 7, 2008

An Eddyville man was injured in a single-vehicle crash south of Dycusburg Wednesday morning, Kentucky State Police said this week.

Evan W. Rhodes, 20, was southbound on Ky. 295, approximately 4 miles south of Dycusburg, when the crash occurred at 10:22 a.m., police said.

Rhodes, driving a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, reportedly left the roadway and overcorrected, causing the vehicle to come back on the road at a near-90-degree angle.

The vehicle crossed both lanes of travel and exited the roadway once again.

It overturned in a ditch and struck a tree, coming to rest on its side against the tree, police said. Rhodes was transported by Crittenden County EMS personnel to Western Baptist Hospital for treatment.

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